


The Countdown

by MaddietheMuse



Series: Twilight Prompt Fills [2]
Category: Twilight (Movies), Twilight Series - All Media Types, Twilight Series - Stephenie Meyer
Genre: Contest Entry, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff and Angst, Kissing, New Year's Eve, Prompt Fill, promptest entry, second place tie
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-28
Updated: 2013-06-28
Packaged: 2017-12-16 11:40:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/861577
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaddietheMuse/pseuds/MaddietheMuse
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Entry for the JBNP “Flash Fanfiction Promptest: Melting Snow, Twinkling Lights and A Wolf<br/>Pic Prompt: #18</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Countdown

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: The following is based on the characters, settings, and events from the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer. All recognizable characters, settings, etc., are the property of their respective owners. The author is in no way associated with Meyer, or the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise related to The Twilight series. Only aspects entirely unique and original to this story are owned by this story's author. This work is intended for entertainment purposes only. No copyright infringement is intended.
> 
> Beta: maLorLa

Prompt fill based on this image:

The main floor of Sam and Emily's house was ridiculously crowded. They had invited what looked like everyone on the reservation under the age of thirty, and it seemed like those people had all brought at least one person with them.

Leah tried to work her way through the packed living room and into the kitchen. She hated crowds; they always made her feel like she was being surrounded without an escape. The wolf inside her had been fighting all night to just get the hell out of there. She'd only just started to re-build the bridge between her and Emily and didn't want to upset the delicate balance they had established, so she stayed.

The tension inside her had made her irritable and she had been lashing out at anyone that crossed her path all night. She'd already managed to snap at half the pack and there was one poor girl she didn't know who had burst into tears after an altercation outside the bathroom.

She shouldn't be there, she knew that, but her stubborn nature wouldn't let her leave. The worst part was that she had finally managed to make the one person who had always stood beside her walk away in a huff. That was the only thing keeping here at the New Year's party now, trying to find him to apologize for her big mouth.

She wove her way through the sea of bodies all laughing and enjoying the atmosphere of frivolity, hating each and every one of them, stopping whenever she came upon one of the other wolves to ask if they had seen where he went. She was beyond caring if rumours were starting to spread throughout the pack about them, she just wanted to find him and tell him she was sorry for being a bitch all the time, say goodnight and get the hell out of there.

"Ten minutes everyone!" Emily's jubilant voice called from where she stood in the kitchen; Sam's arms wound protectively around her.

Great! That's just what she needed was for people to get even more noisy and excited. There was nothing to get excited about in her mind. 2006 had been the worst year of her life and she was more than happy to be seeing the end of it.

She finally made her way to the patio doors that lead into the backyard. Sam had lit a fire out there despite the frosty temperature. The small yard was practically deserted which seemed like a blessing after the throngs of people inside. She could see a few people sitting around the fire. He was there among them, sitting off to one side; his back was to her, silhouetted by the light of the fire. She could tell easily that it was him.

She breathed a sigh of relief; just seeing him made the tension in her shoulders release. She closed the patio door behind her and made her way down the stairs.

"Hey," she sighed, stepping up to stand beside him, not daring to look at him for fear of what she might see in his face. The snow around the fire pit had melted and the light from the flickering flames shone in the wet grass like twinkling Christmas lights.

His responding "hey," was clipped; he didn't look up at her. He was pissed off, and rightfully so.

"I thought you might have left," she muttered.

"Nah. I've got nowhere else to be," he said with a shrug and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, gazing into the flames.

Leah fought with herself to just apologize to him, to tell him she was glad he was still there --that he was always there--but couldn't make her mouth say the words.

"Sorry I lost it with you...again," she mumbled.

"Jesus, Leah. What do you want from me?" he snapped, turning to look up where she stood. The few people around the fire took that as their cue to get up and join in on the countdown revving up inside the house. "There's only so much of your shit I can take before I've had enough, you know? I don't want to keep playing these games." He stood abruptly and positioned himself directly in front of her, holding her elbow so she couldn’t turn away from him.

She stared at him a long moment before letting her eyes fall from his. "I don't either." Her voice sounded defeated and hollow, but her face was determined when she returned her eyes to his face. The face that had been occupying her every though for months, the face that she saw in her dreams, the face of the man she continually pushed away when all she wanted to do was let him get closer.

"Then what, Leah?" he said, the grip on her elbow tightening. "Do we walk away? Or do we admit what's really happening here?" His jaw worked as he clenched his teeth, waiting for her answer. "Your call, but it needs to happen now, Leah."

The voices of the happy people inside drifted through the still night air as the countdown to the new year began.

_ten...nine...eight..._

It was now or never. He'd handed her an ultimatum, and was waiting for her to give him an answer.

_seven…six..._

She stepped forward until she was only a few inches from him, looked him in the eyes as she swallowed down the panic that threatened to rip from her throat, and kissed him.

_five…four...three..._

His arms wound around her roughly and he pulled her against him, deepening the kiss; their first kiss. She let him take over, giving into him as she'd fought not to do for too long.

_two..._

He pulled his mouth from hers and smiled at her with that smile she adored.

_one..._

"Happy New Year, Leah," he smiled down at her, as a chorus of  _Auld Lang Syne_  broke out in the house.

"Shut up and kiss me, Embry."

He did.


End file.
